Armed attack in Kurram: 3 people martyred, Parachinar road closure issue intensifies

Shiite News: Kurram district administration officials said that the passengers were passing through Dad Qamar area of Bagan when armed men opened fire, resulting in the martyrdom of 3 people identified as Tahir Hussain, Safar Ali and Mazar Hussain. Several others were missing till late Friday night.

The bodies of the martyred persons were shifted to Parachinar, where a large-scale protest was held on the news of the attack.

Additional Commissioner Aamir Nawaz confirmed that the bodies have been handed over to the relatives and the incident is being investigated.

Relatives of the deceased said that these persons were going to Peshawar to renew their visas or make arrangements to travel abroad, as their documents were about to expire.

The Thal Parachinar road, which connects the district to the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been closed since the attack on a convoy in the Bagan area on November 21, 2024, in which more than 50 people were killed.

This was followed by clashes over decades-old land disputes that killed at least 130 people.

Addressing a press conference, tribal elders including Haji Imdad Ali accused local administration officials of taking bribes to allow trucks to join government-protected convoys that deliver basic necessities to the besieged city.

They criticized the administration for failing to reopen the road despite the signing of an eight-month peace agreement on March 29.

Tribal leaders accused the authorities of cheating traders by including their vehicles in the convoy, and demanded the immediate opening of all roads in the district.

Traders in Parachinar city on Tuesday went on a shutter-down strike against the months-long closure of the Parachinar Thal Road.